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Saturday, June 08, 2013

Weekend Cooking: Pin It and Do It May Recap

I'm finally reporting on my pinnin's and doin's from May, and I'm happy to report that I actually finished the challenge! I had it in my head that I would shoot for four completed pins, and I actually completed five. Go me!

My first completed pin involved war on sugar ants in my kitchen. While the cinnamon worked like a charm in the beginning, it began to wear off. In addition to making sure all the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher at night, wiping down the counters with vinegar, and drying all around the sink, I put out some basil that they seem to really dislike. Read more here...

Greyson had a long weekend with his daddio leading up to Memorial Day, so one night when I was staying in, I tackled this much-anticipated Spicy Rice Noodles recipe from my new favorite cookbook, Food: Vegetarian Home Cooking, by Mary McCartney. While I had to sub some ingredients I was missing, they still turned out to be delicious! Will definitely make them again. I kinda negated the "vegetarian" part when I served them with roasted salmon glazed with brown sugar, garlic, and hot chili oil, but delicious anywho.

While these were quick and easy, the cupcake recipe called for WAY too much vanilla. A whole teaspoon for two cupcakes! When I first bit into them it was like licking the alcohol out of the vanilla bottle. Ugh! I would half this in future endeavors. The icing helped cover up some of that, though. Nom!

Finally, I found a new fave recipe! I am constantly looking for easy freezables that I can stockpile and take for work lunches. These Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos fit the bill perfectly! I used two medium sweet potatoes and a little less than half of a very large onion. I skimped on the red bell pepper and cilantro because I didn't have it on hand. And my black beans were buried in the pantry, so I subbed kidney beans instead (lazy!). Once I added the cheese and spices, I had enough filling for almost 15 burritos! I roll them in foil and freeze them 2-4 to a plastic bag. I often take a 4-pack to work and leave in the kitchen freezer for a day that I forget lunch.

They are super simple to reheat. Just unwrap, cover them in a damp paper towel, and microwave for 2-4 minutes (depending on the strength of the microwave...ours sucks). Next time through I might double the spice, though. I'm from Texas. I like the spice!

So there you have it! I've already made another recipe this month from Pinterest, but I'll save that for another edition of Weekend Cooking. It's another easy freezable that I shared at a ladies lunch in our department. A hit all around! Stay tuned for next Saturday!